< newer | older >

It's true that Penn State's recruiting presence in New Jersey isn't what it used to be, particularly during the long stretch when former offensive coordinator Fran Ganter helped the Nittany Lions consistently mop up in the Garden State.

Add in the relatively recent resurgence by Rutgers, and it's no longer a given that all of Jersey's top talent will flock to Penn State.

But on Sunday, the Lions beat out the Scarlet Knights -- along with a slew of high-profile programs -- for the verbal commitment of Angelo Mangiro, according to Scout.com and Rivals.com. 

Mangiro (Scout profile | Rivals profile), a heavily recruited offensive lineman from Roxbury High School in North Jersey, checks in at 6-foot-3, 290 pounds and is ranked as the No. 5 guard in the country by Scout and  the No. 13 guard by Rivals.

It came down to Penn State and Rutgers for Mangiro, who also had Pitt and Ohio State in his top four schools. Beyond that, Mangiro had scholarship offers from marquee programs across the country, including Florida and USC.

So Mangiro's verbal is a nice shot in the arm in a slow-developing Class of 2011 for the Lions, which is now up to four commitments.

--derek

PSU Class of 2011 (Courtesy Scout.com)

Pos	Nat'l Rank	Nat'l Rating	Name School, Hometown	HT/ WT
OG	5		Angelo Mangiro (Roxbury HS) Succasunna, NJ	6-3/295
DE	103		Jordan Kerner (Fairview HS) Fairview, PA	6-5/230
DE	22		Shawn Oakman (Penn Wood HS) Lansdowne, PA	6-9/245
TE	NR		Kyle Carter (William Penn HS) New Castle, DE	6-3/231

About the Author

Derek joined The Times Leader sports staff in May 2006 and is the Penn State football beat writer, covering the Nittany Lions and the Increasingly Inaccurately Named Big Ten (IINBT). A 2006 Penn State graduate in journalism, he has been covering the program for various outlets since 2003, including working as a writer and an editor for four years at The Daily Collegian.

Derek also writes a regular blog for timesleader.com.

Follow PSU football news on Twitter.

Favorite Sites

• Every Day Should Be Saturday
• Hockey's Future

Archives

• January 2012
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• August 2011
• July 2011
• April 2011
• February 2011
• January 2011
• December 2010
• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• July 2010
• June 2010
• May 2010
• April 2010
• March 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007

Tweet	Follow @TLbreaking